Skip to content

Liber VIII · Eastern Mysticism

Liber VIII

Yoga, Tantra & Eastern Mysticism

Hindu philosophy, yoga and samadhi, kundalini, tantra, qigong, Taoist alchemy, Zen and the Sufi path.

Esoteric knowledge is not only a Western story. This section covers the philosophies of Hinduism, from the Vedas and Upanishads to Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita; the eight limbs of Patanjali's yoga culminating in samadhi; the subtle-body traditions of kundalini, the chakras and nadis, hatha yoga and the tantric schools of Shaivism, Shaktism and Buddhism; qigong, neigong and the internal alchemy of Taoism; Zen and Chan meditation; the Vajrayana practices of Tibet; and the mystical path of Sufism within Islam. Each article explains the original context and texts, and distinguishes them from their later Western adaptations.

Chapters

On the shelf

The Alchemical BodyDavid Gordon White The Alchemical BodyDavid Gordon White Altered TraitsDaniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson Altered TraitsDaniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson Asana Pranayama Mudra BandhaSwami Satyananda Saraswati Asana Pranayama Mudra BandhaSwami Satyananda Saraswati The Buddha PillMiguel Farias and Catherine Wikholm The Buddha PillMiguel Farias and Catherine Wikholm The ChakrasC. W. Leadbeater The ChakrasC. W. Leadbeater

Cover of The Conference of the Birds

The Conference of the BirdsFarid ud-Din Attar Deliverance from Error (al-Munqidh min al-dalal)al-Ghazali Deliverance from Error (al-Munqidh min al-dalal)al-Ghazali The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western TraditionG. R. S. Mead The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western TraditionG. R. S. Mead Eastern Body, Western MindAnodea Judith Eastern Body, Western MindAnodea Judith The Encyclopedia of TaoismFabrizio Pregadio (ed.) The Encyclopedia of TaoismFabrizio Pregadio (ed.)

Cover of Energies of Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process

Energies of TransformationBonnie Greenwell The Garland of LettersSir John Woodroffe The Garland of LettersSir John Woodroffe The Gheranda SamhitaAnonymous The Gheranda SamhitaAnonymous The Gheranda SamhitaJames Mallinson The Gheranda SamhitaJames Mallinson Great ClarityFabrizio Pregadio Great ClarityFabrizio Pregadio

Cover of Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Hatha Yoga PradipikaSvatmarama HaṭhayogapradīpikāSvātmārāma HaṭhayogapradīpikāSvātmārāma The Hevajra TantraDavid L. Snellgrove The Hevajra TantraDavid L. Snellgrove Indian Esoteric BuddhismRonald M. Davidson Indian Esoteric BuddhismRonald M. Davidson Introduction to Tantra SastraSir John Woodroffe Introduction to Tantra SastraSir John Woodroffe

Cover of Kashmir Shaivism: The Secret Supreme

Kashmir ShaivismSwami Lakshmanjoo Kiss of the YoginīDavid Gordon White Kiss of the YoginīDavid Gordon White

Cover of The Kundalini Experience

The Kundalini ExperienceLee Sannella

Cover of Kundalini Tantra

Kundalini TantraSwami Satyananda Saraswati

Chronology

The full timeline